In this made-up scenario, metro first responders greeted a military C-130 aircraft, which according to the script, flew in 35 patients who`d been involved in an earthquake in Tennessee, and many of these injured people were said to be experiencing symptoms of radiation sickness.

That big military medical flight actually flew in from a military base in Wisconsin, and the doctors and nurses from the metro examined the patients -- both volunteers, who served as the walking wounded, as well as plastic medical dummies -- and then, routed them to local hospitals for treatment.

Emergency medical techs from the Kansas City Fire Department carried patients from the airplane into one of the airport's garages, which was transformed into a temporary triage center, filled with the noise of a busy hospital emergency room.

Zack Bradley, emergency manager for the Veteran Health Administration, served as coordinator for the drill that involved more than 200 people. Bradley said the likelihood of such a scenario happening is unlikely, but the same plans of attack are used by medical response professionals during tornado and hurricane recovery efforts.

"One of the things we've done here is to establish a joint information system where the public affairs and public information officers from the various participating facilities have come together," Bradley said.